Former South African pacer Dale Steyn slammed Team India for resting Jasprit Bumrah in the crucial second Test against England at Edgbaston. The 31-year-old bowled almost 44 overs in India’s opening Test defeat at Leeds, prompting management to exercise caution as part of his workload management.

Bumrah himself mentioned playing only three out of the five Tests in the UK tour before the start of the series. However, with India trailing 0-1 in the best-of-five affair, several former players urged the ace pacer to play the ongoing Edgbaston contest.

Reacting to India’s decision of resting the ace pacer, Steyn posted on his X handle:

“So Portugal have the best striker in the world in Ronaldo and they chose not to play him. Thats madness. That’s like India having Bumrah and choosing not to play, umm, him… wait, oh, no, what! shit I’m confused.”

Bumrah was the pick of the Indian bowlers in the series opener, with a five-wicket haul in the first innings. However, he went wicketless in the second innings as England successfully chased down 371 on the final day.

“You make him sit out after 7 days of rest” – Ravi Shastri slams India’s decision to rest Jasprit Bumrah

Former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri blasted the management for resting Jasprit Bumrah in the second England Test despite a week-long gap between the Leeds and Edgbaston Tests. India entered the Edgbaston outing with seven losses in their last nine Tests, including a 0-3 home series whitewash to New Zealand.

Reflecting on the veteran pacer not playing the second Test, Shastri told Sky Sports (via India Today):

“If you look at the run India has had, this becomes a very, very important Test match. You’ve lost 3 against New Zealand, you’ve lost 3 against Australia, you’ve lost the first test match here, and you want to get back to winning ways, and you have the best fast bowler in the side in the world, and you make him sit out after 7 days of rest, you know, it’s something very hard to believe.”

He continued:

“They’ve had a week off. I’m a little surprised that Bumrah is not playing this game. I think it should be taken out of the player’s hand. It should be the captain and the coaching staff that should decide who should be playing, and if this is an important game in the context of the series, he should be playing this game more than anything else. Lords can come later.”

Team India have made a solid start to the Edgbaston Test, reaching 310/5 in 85 overs at the end of Day 1. Skipper Shubman Gill led the way with an unbeaten 114, while young opener Yashasvi Jaiswal set the tone with a brilliant 107-ball 87.